Blue Skies
by mymalibu8
Summary: After moving to Florida from California, Temari is forced to transition into her new school while still taking care of her family. Will Shikamaru be able to help her cope, or will she have to fend for herself? (AU: Modern Day Highschool)
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** What's up everybody? Thanks for checking out our very first Naruto group fanfiction! This was written by two people on Skype, and transformed into paragraph format. Both of the authors are tumblr role-players, and really good friends! Follow us on tumblr!

Shikamaru: shadow-genius  
Temari: temariofthewind

Thanks again, and hope you enjoy the first chapter!

* * *

Blue Skies

Chapter 1- New Beginnings

_Another year, huh? Troublesome._

That was what Nara Shikamaru thought as he approached the school grounds after summer vacation. Goodbye sleeping late in the mornings, hello waking up early. After being dragged out of bed by his mother, he had gotten dressed, had his breakfast, and started off to school. This was going to be his third year at Konoha High, and the lazy boy couldn't dread starting school again more.

Shikamaru had always done well in school, but that didn't mean he enjoyed it. He would rather be home in bed than be sitting in a classroom listening to lectures about topics he was already knowledgeable about. Seemed like kind of a waste of time. Pulling out his cell phone, he noticed that he had a new message from his best friend, Chouji.

_By the front steps. You here?_

Shikamaru looked up and found his friend right where he said he was, by the front steps of the school. He approached him and greeted him with a lazy "morning." Chouji turned and smiled at his friend. "You made it! I thought for sure you would be an hour late. You're never up before noon." Shikamaru groaned. "My mom got me up. It was such a drag. You gotten your schedule yet?"

"Not yet. I was going to wait for the crowd to die down before I got anywhere near the front office." Shikamaru looked over his shoulder to notice Chouji was right, there was quite a crowd of students trying to get inside, most likely trying to get their new schedule. "We'll get squished if we try and squeeze through there." Chouji pointed out.

Seemed like this school year was already off to a rough start.

* * *

As much as Temari enjoyed the little bit of sleep she got, she forced herself to wake up extra early to get a head start on the day.

First thing she did was make her way to the bathroom, dragging her feet tiredly across the floor before resting in the doorway for a moment to look in the mirror. She looked like a mess. All the moving around...it made her so tired. Packing and unpacking, going to a new school, taking care of her two younger brothers because their no good father was never around. On top of all that, a few months ago her youngest brother was discharged from the hospital after a two-week stay.

She hardly had any time for herself, afraid to leave him alone at home. Out of all of them, Gaara had been the one to suffer the most... all the moving and their dads' 'occupation'... Gaara had been the one to find their uncle's dead body curled up on the bathroom floor covered in blood with slit wrists. He had never been the same since.

He'd been starting on a new medication for his insomnia, and although it kept him sleeping late and his appearances scarce, it was better than seeing him tormented by the figments of a sleep-deprived mind.

Kankuro, the middle child, took it upon himself to go out as soon as they arrived at their new home in Florida and look for jobs. He wanted to have some extra money so the three of them would have enough food and necessities...every now and then he would suggest they go out or maybe he would rent some movies then suggest they all hang out and watch it together.

A part of her realized he did it out of guilt for leaving them alone.

His gestures helped her stress a little. She watched the movies. She read the books he bought her. She cleaned the house until it retained the sterile air of a hospital.

She gave a sigh and shook her head, trying to shake the troubling thoughts from her mind. She barely realized she was already standing in front of the tub. She reached out turning the faucet on and quickly undressed before stepping in the warm water. It felt amazing and soothing, and helped her wake up even more.

After washing up she got out and pulled on a pair of jeans, her button up with the sleeves rolled to her elbows, and a pair of black and white converse. After her hair dried she pulled them up into four seperate ponytails then made her way to her brothers room to wake them. She merely pushed Kankuro off his bed and told him to get up and get ready but when she got to Gaara she merely tapped on the door and rested a hand lightly on his shoulder.

She flinched when he stirred and his eyes shot open, body going rigid, blinking a few times over at her before relaxing. Temari told him it was time to wake up and get ready for his first day back at school.

He merely nodded and she left him to go to the kitchen and start on breakfast. It was going to be a very trying day... She would worry about Gaara all day and hoped he wouldn't have any trouble.

When Kankuro dragged himself into the kitchen and plopped down at a table, followed by Gaara not far behind, she placed the food in front of them.

* * *

After they left the house, Temari drove to the school and finally found a parking place. They were there early but it looks like they weren't the only ones to try and get an early start on their schedules and what not.

The three of them waited in the mass of people to get into the office for their schedule and when it finally was their turn she took the papers, signed off for them, then quickly got out of the cramped space.

"Shikamaru! You actually rolled out of bed early? It's a miracle!" Shikamaru stiffened just hearing the shrill voice of Ino, the girl who had been his lab partner for the past three years. He prayed that this year he would actually get paired with someone different.

"Hey, I can wake up early if I need to, Ino." He shot back, rolling his eyes as she got closer. "Yeah, yeah, sure you can. Man. Did you get dressed with your eyes closed this morning? You look awful…"

Shikamaru looked down. He was wearing his usual: a thick dark green hoodie jacket with jeans. His messy hair was pulled up into his usual ponytail. "What so you mean? This is how I always dress…" Ino scoffed. "Yeah, that's why you look so bad everyday. Haven't have ever heard of fashion, Shikamaru? I should go shopping with you sometime. There's this store on the corner that-."

Ino was cut off when she realized Shikamaru was walking away from her. "Hey!" She called after him. "Where do you think you're going? I was talking here!" But she was too late. Shikamaru and Chouji had already walked inside the school to get their schedules.

"Seems like Ino hasn't changed a bit over the summer. Man, I wish that girl would shut up for one." Shikamaru complained, getting in the now not as crowded line for the office. "Be nice to her, Shikamaru. She comes from a nice family." Chouji said, getting behind his friend. "Yeah? Well then she must be the runt of the litter, because she's annoying."

Kankuro was looking to the map and offered to show Gaara around, well aware that Temari was stressing herself out again just at the thought of all the classes and her younger brother. She hesitated a moment not sure if it was a good idea separating just yet but finally she gave a sigh, "Yeah, just...try not to get lost. You have my number if you need help. You too Gaara." She gave him a smile and hesitantly reached out lightly tousling his hair.

That was something she rarely ever did but it did earn her a small twitch from the corner of his lips, which soon faded back into his ever-present deadpanned expression.

Kankuro pulled him off, leaving Temari there to look over her schedule and wait for her first class to get started.

* * *

Chouji and Shikamaru were standing off to the side, looking over their new schedules. "What's your first class?" Chouji asked.

"English. I'm in the advanced class with a bunch of upperclassmen. I'll probably just sleep through the entire thing." Shikamaru let out a long yawn. "At least try and stay awake, Shikamaru. I have Biology first, so I'm going this way." Chouji pointed down a hallway that leads to the science classrooms. "Alright. See you at lunch then." Shikamaru called, waving as his friend left.

He sighed and decided it was time for him to make his way to his class too. Stretching his arms out, he turned to his left, walking up the stairs and down the hallway that leads to the English wing. He looked at his schedule to find the room number he was in.

_Room 302._

As soon as Shikamaru found the room, he opened the door, and noticed he was the only one in the classroom. Everyone must be running late on their first day. _Oh, well. At least I get first pick on seats. _He thought as he moved for the back of the room, setting his things down next to the desk at the very back of the room, directly next to the window.

* * *

Temari looked through her schedule and then to the map searching for the English wing. She had taken a lot of advanced classes positive it would look good on her college resumes...that is, if she ever got the opportunity to go to college... Just the thought of it made her frown.

If she went to college she would have to move again, most likely bring her brothers along, get a house for them, get them into school again... that way she could at least take care of them while she went to college. She felt like she had to be there for the both of them. Always.

"Room 302..." she muttered walking past several rooms. "302..-ah." She stopped in front of the room marked 302 and peeked inside. She thought it was empty but then she spotted someone in the back. He appeared to have been sleeping.

"Hn..." Taking a seat at the front of the class she dropped her book bag down beside her and pulled out a notebook. _Might as well work on some botany..._ she would like to get a head start on that.

* * *

Soon after finding the classroom and sitting down, Shikamaru drifted off to sleep. These early morning classes would be the death of him. He wondered how many lectures he would actually listen to. It would be a miracle if he stayed awake for more than 10 minutes everyday.

He was awakened by the sound of the teacher's voice. He looked around him, realizing how long he had drifted off. Nearly every seat was filled in the classroom. _Hm. Just as I thought. Upperclassmen. _Shikamaru thought as he looked around, not recognizing many of the faces in the classroom.

The teacher was a younger man with long silver hair. Shikamaru had seen him around in years past. He was kind of hard to miss. _Hatake…Hatake Kakashi… _He thought to himself, remembering the name of said teacher.

As the teacher took his place at his podium, he started his first day lecture. Really he just went over the rules, saying he didn't care if the students slept in class. If they wanted to flunk out of the class, it was fine by him. Shikamaru knew that wouldn't be the case for him.

Temari stared up at the teacher taking some more notes. Already he had given out assignments for essays and she couldn't help but groan inwardly. They weren't going to be hard but they would still be a pain.

Before they knew it, the bell for the next class rang, and everyone stood from their seats and headed for the exit. Shikamaru took his schedule out of his pocket as he walked, trying to determine where he was going next. _Calculus room 40-_

Once the bell rang Temari took her time gathering her papers and books not bothering to shove them all into her pack. She stood up and took a few steps before realizing she left her pencil. Turning around she accidentally slammed into someone...or someone had ran into her.

Shikamaru's thoughts were interrupted when he slammed into someone, the person's books dropping all over the ground. "Oh…sorry. Guess I'm always kind of distracted in the…morning." Shikamaru paused when he looked up to find a fierce looking girl with multiple ponytails staring back at him.

Temari wiped the scowl off her face that made its way there on her face when her books were knocked from her hands. After he crouched down and began picking up her books she joined him

Quickly getting down on his knees and picking up whatever book he could, Shikamaru refused to meet the girl's eyes. "Uh…you're not hurt, are you?"

"Nah, I'm not hurt." Temari shrugged. "It's just some books." She gathered her scattered papers and took her books from him. She began putting her books away into her book bag thinking it would be easier and safer than carrying them around in her arms.

"Thanks...um,?" She waited for him to say his name. Once they stood she looked him over quickly. He was dressed in a nice hoodie and jeans. Nothing super fancy about them. Just casual clothes...his hair was pulled back in a ponytail. It kind of looked like a pineapple. Her lips turned in a slight smile just at that small thought.

"Oh, I'm Nara Shikamaru. A third year." He answered her, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Sorry again. I'm not really used to getting up this early. And…you are?"

Now that she was in front of him, he looked her over. She was slim, her hair pulled back into four separate ponytails. How very…unique. "Were you in my English class just now? How about that professor, huh? Homework on the first day of class…how troublesome."

Temari recognized him as the boy who was asleep when she first walked in. "I'm Sabaku no Temari. I'm new here." She smiled and held out a hand for him to take.

Shikamaru reached out and took the offered hand, shaking it lightly. "Nice to meet you, Temari. You're new? Did you just move here? Where from?" Shikamaru was honestly curious. It wasn't everyday that their small little school got any newcomers.

"Yeah. Seriously, I'm pretty sure that it's not going to be the first class to do this." She sighed looking to her schedule. "I have Botany 1 next...all the way on the other side of the school... then biology... calculus and then lunch." She sighed. "This will be fun..." She shook her head and gave a sigh. "Sorry," She walked off towards the door with him. "I'm keeping you from getting to your class." She rubbed her neck giving a slight laugh.

She was a little hesitant about telling him where she came from. She honestly just wanted to forget about that old place and start over not worrying about that old life but she decided to tell him anyway, "I'm from California." She shrugged. "I moved her literally two weeks ago with my two brothers."

"Oh, there's a shortcut to get to the science wing. If you take a left down this hallway and then take the first right, it pretty much takes your right there. Most people think of going around the long way when in reality you can just go in from the back." Shikamaru knew this school backwards and forwards, so he pretty much knew every shortcut there was.

Temari quirked an eyebrow, "Hn... well then. That will make the trip much more easier." She smiled. "Thanks."

Shikamaru took in the fact that she was from California. He wondered why anyone would want to come to a small town in Florida after living in the sunny state of California. It didn't make much sense. But, he simply nodded and said "I hope you'll settle in here quickly. Hopefully it's not that different from your old home."

She walked down the hall a ways with him before coming to a stop. "Thanks for your help Shikamaru." She smiled fixing her bookbag on her shoulder before turning around. "Maybe I'll see you later?" She said a bit hopefully. He had been the first to speak to her since she's been here so it was kind of nice to have someone to speak with.

"Bye!" she waved heading off to her botany class before she could be late.

Shikamaru stopped with her when they needed to part. Calculus was to the left, and the science wing was to the right. "Sure. If not later today, tomorrow morning bright and early for sure, right?" He gave her a small smile. "Good luck on your first day." He called as he walked towards the math wing.

Neither of them realized just how interesting this new school year was going to be.


	2. Chapter 2- Repeat

**Author's Note: OMG! We're so excited that so many of you are enjoying our stories! Thanks so much, and keep those reviews coming!**

* * *

Blue Skies

Chapter 2- Repeat.

Once Temari arrived at the science lab she realized there weren't as many people in the class than she thought there would be. Guess not many people shared an interest in botany like she did.

As the class rolled on, Temari noticed the teacher was very smart and extremely beautiful. Her name was Kurenai and she wans't afraid to get a little dirt under her nails. Temari's mood instantly changed for the better just being in the class. Still, Temari thought about Shikamaru every now and then, just thankful that he helped her out.

When the class was over she waved over her shoulder to Kurenai who had became very impressed with her infinite knowledge in the subject.

* * *

Shikamaru had never had a particular like for Calculus. It was the only class where he actually had to stay awake to learn something. Every teacher had a way of teaching math, and if you didn't do the problems the way they did, you could get lost and fall behind.

But, at least Shikamaru got a good teacher. Iruka had always been one of the calmer, more enjoyable math teachers. Even though staying awake through the whole thing would be a drag, Shikamaru knew he would actually learn something useful from Iruka.

After that class was over, Shikamaru checked his schedule again. He was heading to biology. Now was the moment of truth, would he get suck with a troublesome lab partner for the semester, or would the teacher put him with someone he could tolerate? Shikamaru hoped it was the latter. He had suffered enough for the past three years with a talkative blonde always up his ass…

* * *

Temari took her time making her way to the biology class just so she could look around a bit. Once she got to the class she gave a frown. The entire front three tables were already taken. She decided to go for the next best spot... the table on the second row in the middle of the room. She preferred sitting up front where she could pay better attention with no distractions.

After pushing her bag under the table she placed her botany notebook in front of her. She figured a little extra research for that class wouldn't hurt. At least she liked the subject. After a minute or two she decided to work on it later and put the book away. She needed to try and talk to some people...make some friends. But every time she spotted a person she always found something to prevent her from approaching them. With a sigh, she sat back in the chair and crossed her arms staring at the ceiling. What was the point of trying to make friends...?

Shikamaru found the biology room in no time at all, and was surprised to find it so crowded. Seems like everyone had the same idea he did: get to class early and pick your seat. Well, at least the back of the room was pretty empty…

He saw a few familiar faces as he walked further into the classroom. Neji, the older student who didn't really like talking to anyone at all; Tenten, who seemed to be the only person Neji would even remotely deal with; Sakura, one of Ino's annoying friends. As soon as he walked in, Sakura called him over.

"Hey, Shikamaru! You know Ino's in this class too, right? I'll bet any amount of money that you two get paired up again!" She laughed, and those who had been in some of their previous classes joined in. _Not if I can help it…._Shikamaru thought to himself.

He started making his way to the back of the room when he spotted those four ponytails he had run into earlier. Deciding to be friendly to the new student, he instead opted for the second row of seats, and pulled out the one that was next to Temari. "So…we meet again."

"Ah~ pineapple." Temari said with a smirk and looked over to the boy, clearly pleased that she would have this class with someone she knew. "I mean, Shikamaru." She sat up and turned to face him.

"Thanks for the help earlier...it was much faster getting to the class than I thought." She spotted a few more people come into the room. They had gathered at the front talking with everyone. Looks like everyone was chatting it up with their friends they haven't seen all summer...lucky them.

He groaned when she called him pineapple. "Yeah, yeah, call me that all you want, but don't expect me to respond to it." He rolled his eyes and smiled when she thanked him for the help. "I'm glad you found your way. You'll know this school really well by the end of the month, trust me."

He noticed her gaze move to the front of the r

oom, and he wished he hadn't looked because just then, a blonde haired girl walked in the room and headed straight for Sakura. Shikamaru slumped in his seat, thankful when the teacher walked in and prevented them from talking.

There wasn't much special about the biology teacher, Yamato. He was a middle-aged man with brown hair that had a rather monotone voice, but none of the students had anything against him. As soon as he was finished calling role, he started assigning lab partners by random. Ino looked back at Shikamaru with a smile.

Temari turned her attention to the teacher and listened as he called role. She was glancing around the room looking to the shelf in the corner that held jars of random things. Something looked suspiciously like a baby pig... Her attention was pulled away when the teacher was talking about lab partners.

"Alright, you and….." Yamato pointed to Ino, and searched the room for her partner. Shikamaru slumped even more in his seat, trying to hide from Yamato's gaze. "You." Yamato pointed at the opposite end of the room, and everyone looked to see where his finger had landed.

"SHINO?! THE BUG BOY?" Ino's screams could be heard from a mile away, and Shikamaru inwardly sighed, thankful to be rid of that burden for a while. Shino had always kept to himself. Everyone called him the 'bug boy' because whenever he was outside, he was observing bugs. Shikamaru found Shino quite interesting to talk to, actually.

Temari glanced around the room wondering just who she would get as a partner when a loud whining voice could be heard. She glared at the longhaired blonde, slightly annoyed that she was screaming and calling names to the quiet boy across the room.

"That's a little rude don't you think?" She said out loud before realizing it. She leaned forward tapping her finger on the table. "You don't see him complaining he's stuck with a loudmouth...at least out loud anyway."

If there was something Temari hated it was someone thinking they were better than everyone: bullies, and loud mouths. In the past, she had to deal with a few people who thought they could push her brothers around.

Shikamaru turned to look at Temari when she stood up to Ino's yelling. Obviously this new girl wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Shikamaru liked that, and joined her. "Yeah, Ino. Shino's actually pretty interesting if you give him a chance. He's smart too. You'll make good grades on your labs." He looked to the boy in the corner, and saw a small smile on the corner of his mouth.

Ino huffed. "Who's this new girl, Shikamaru? She sure has a big mouth…" Shikamaru froze for a minute, realizing the entire class was staring at them at this point. Shikamaru decided to give Ino one more push.

Temari crossed her arms and glared at the girl, Ino, who shot her a nasty look in return. She didn't care if the others were watching her now. She was surprised when Shikamaru stood up for her defending her.

"Well, at least it's not as big as your ego…" He heard a few noises come from the other students and watched as Ino started at him open-mouthed. Yamato quieted everyone down and finished giving out the lab partner assignments. "Alright, since you two seem to work well as a team, you can work together on assignments too." Yamato said to Shikamaru and Temari.

"Thanks..." she shot him a smile just as the teacher began calming everyone down. He then paired Shikamaru and her together as lab partners. "Well, looks like we are partners." She pulled out her biology notebook. "Lucky you." She teased.

Shikamaru sighed in relief. He could work with Temari as a lab partner.

The teacher, Yamato, was giving them a speech about the class rules and then began writing page numbers down on the board giving them a bit of information on their first projects for the school year. "What is it with teachers giving us all work on the first day!" Temari muttered as she wrote down the page numbers.

"Right? It's like they want to torture us even more…troublesome." Shikamaru muttered, also writing down the page numbers. "We can get started on these tomorrow. They're not due any time soon."

Shikamaru noticed Temari's botany notebook. Seemed like she had already written a lot for the first day. "You like sciences, don't you?" He asked, filliping open her notebook.

Temari shrugged, "I guess you could say that. I really like botany though."

Her notes were very detail and organized. Shikamaru felt like he learned something just from reading them.

She nodded to the book watching as he flipped through it. "I was hoping to work on a little garden at home...I was going to try to start on that in a week or so if I find the time." She motioned to her homework book. "But looks like school isn't going to let me have any time to myself...on top of taking care of my brothers." She sighed.

"Well, I think I got a really good lab partner." Shikamaru smiled up at her.

"Don't worry." Temari laughed, "I won't let us fail this class."

Shikamaru finished flipping through the book and handed it back to Temari, keeping his voice down as Yamato continued to ramble on about rules and such. "You have brothers? Do they go here too? Younger or older?" He was curious about this new girl from California. Something about her was different from most girls he dealt with.

"Yeah, two brothers. Both younger." She kept her voice low so they wouldn't get in trouble with the teacher. "You have any brothers or sisters?" She asked moving her chair closer so they could whisper in peace.

"No, I'm an only child. I live ten minutes from school with my troublesome parents." He sighed, resting his head on his hand. "I can't wait until I graduate and move out of my parent's place…"

Temari nodded, "That's not too bad. I live about the same distance. I also have a pet weasel." She smiled thinking about Kamatari. "He has one eye and is just as much a family member as my brothers." She doodled in the corner of her paper drawing a little one eyed weasel.

"A what?" Shikamaru whispered. He could have sworn she said…yep. She said weasel. He watched as she drew a little picture of what he assumed her pet looked like. Only one eye? "That's…nice. It's good to have pets, I suppose."

She shrugged. "Yeah, he got into a fight with a neighbors dog where we used to live.

At that moment, the bell rang, indicating class was over. Shikamaru gathered his books and pulled out his schedule again. "Ugh…history right before lunch? I'll have a stomachache…" He sighed. "Where are you heading?"

"She closed her notebook and put it away just as the bell rang. "Oh...that was quick." She frowned. She was enjoying her time chatting with Shikamaru. Talking to someone besides her brothers was kind of nice.

"I have calculus then first lunch after that." She said. "History isn't that bad." she smiled throwing her book bag strap over her head. She made her way to the door and paused for a second as a group of other students didn't bother to pay attention and rushed out the door trying to get out of the class. The 'bug boy' from earlier was making his way out and she shot him a friendly smile and a wave.

Shikamaru almost wanted to tell off those students that almost ran them over as they headed out the door, but he decided it was better to stay quiet. He had done enough back talking for the day. "History just isn't really my subject. I like English, but all the teachers here teach the same thing every year. I usually sleep through English class."

"Heh, English is ok. Essays are a pain but they are easy." She shrugged.

"What lunch do you have?" She asked Shikamaru.

"Same one as you, after this period. Guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other this semester." He smiled. "If you want, you can sit with us at lunch. I have a small group of friends that I usually sit with, and you're welcome to join us. No girls though…if that's okay."

"Looks like we will be." She smiled back. "I'd like that...who is us?" She questioned. "I don't mind...I don't normally fit in with many girls anyway...I can't really bother to sit through conversations about clothes or make up or the latest crushes." She rolled her eyes and walked out of the classroom with him.

"I have a couple of friends that I like to hang out with at lunch. Chouji, Naruto, Kiba. You'll like them, and I'm sure they won't oppose to a girl sitting with us either." Shikamaru smiled.

"I see." Temari nodded. "They sound like a nice bunch." She smiled. "I'll see you there..." She waved and watched as he walked off. "Shikamaru..." She slowly turned away walking to her Calculus class.

Soon, it was time for them to part yet again. "Well, I guess I'll see you at lunch. We usually sit at the table at the very right corner of the cafeteria, so just walk right up." Shikamaru waved as he turned to watch to history. "See you then."

Through the entire calculus class Temari only half paid attention. Her thoughts wondered to how her brothers were doing. It was strange...she wasn't really as worried about them as she thought she would be. It was nice in a way but now that she thought about it...how were they doing? She hadn't seen them walking the halls... maybe she just missed them? Or maybe she was just distracted by Shikamaru.

What was it about that guy... he made her feel so relaxed and stress free. She liked it but it felt so different.

Her pencil tapped against the desk and her eyes glazed over as she stared at the same problem on the board for the past ten minutes. She had already solved the problem and was just waiting for the bell to ring so she could get out and go to lunch. How was meeting all his friends going to go?


End file.
